Journey to Health: Mind, Body, Spirit

Interactive, Video-based Course
26 half-hour videos
26 lessons

Video Preview / Course Demonstration

Preview Video
Courseware Demo

Preview Guide (PDF 300KB)
Brochure (PDF 260KB)

Journey to Health: Mind, Body, Spirit invites students to explore health from mental, physical and spiritual perspectives—where health is not defined simply as the absence of disease, but as high-level wellness of the entire individual.

The inter-relatedness of the dimensions of health, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual and environmental, draws the student into the understanding that health is about choices, decisions and relationships. This course offers students the opportunity to evaluate their own health lifestyles, using knowledge from nationally renowned experts from various fields of medicine and health. Students are encouraged to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills along with new knowledge to make the decisions and modifications necessary to improve their own lifestyle behaviors.

Experts such as David Satcher, MD, Herbert Benson, MD, Jean Reinisch, PhD, Dean Ornish, MD, Robert Hales, MD, Bernice Sandler, PhD, Alvin Poussaint, MD, Talmadge King, MD, Peter Snell, PhD and many other leaders in their field share their expertise with students. Chosen for their diversity of knowledge and perception, commentary from these experts will deepen the students' learning experience.

The experiences and insights of a true-to-life "cast" of individuals, each coping with myriad health issues, will resonate with students—representing the broad fabric of America's cultural, geographic, ethnic, and lifestyle diversity. We follow these individuals as they demonstrate how to cope with chronic health issues and still lead a healthy lifestyle. Their experiences teach students that there are many healthy lifestyles, and that even if someone is not "perfect" in their health choices and behaviors, it is always possible to change and improve one's quality of life.

Cutting edge programs and research projects are highlighted to offer the student insight into the incredible progress that is constantly being made in areas related to health. These experiences are designed to encourage students to explore, on their own, new research and interesting ideas in health related fields.

Critical and logical reasoning are emphasized as students are expected to use a broad base of material and experience for their own "Journey to Health." A course like this is only meaningful if one takes from it lifestyle modifications and new behaviors that improve one's quality of life and health. Upon completion of this one-semester survey health course, students will:

Expand their knowledge of health and wellness, and the lifestyle behaviors that achieve and support high level wellness
Develop an understanding of the interaction between mind, body and spirit in sustaining health
Use critical thinking and problem solving skills to develop and modify their lifestyle to improve their quality of life
Relate their individual decisions and actions to the wellbeing and health of the planet

Resource Materials

Video is comprised of twenty-six 30-minute programs
Textbook is An Invitation to Health, by Dianne Hales, published by Wadsworth Thomson Learning
Telelcourse Guide is Telecourse Guide for Journey to Health, by Donna Richards, published by Wadsworth Thomson Learning
Interactive Course via CD-ROM and Internet

Course Objectives

Explain the factors that affect the development of healthy lifestyles.
Discuss psychological health and methods for achieving psychological well-being.
Explain how physical fitness contributes to health across the lifespan.
Explain how the basic principles of good nutrition affect health across the lifespan.
Discuss the biological, psychological, and social aspects of the reproductive process.
Explain the methods of transmission, treatment, control, and prevention of infectious diseases.
Explain the major cardiovascular diseases and how individual health behaviors contribute to cardiovascular health or illness.
Explain factors that affect the aging process and issues facing the elderly.

Lesson Titles/Descriptions

Health: Begin the Journey - Offers the student fundamental theories for examining health issues facing the United States through the insight of the former Surgeon General. Introduces the concept of the relatedness of the mind, body and spirit in sustaining health. Students begin their own "Journey to Health" by meeting individuals facing various health issues in their own lives.
Stress - Interprets the causes and effects of stress on the individual and the systems of the body. Explores ways in which people are impacted by stress and how they cope with stress in their lives. Introduces stress reduction techniques, including journaling.
Psychological Health - Discusses what being psychologically healthy means in people's lives and what kinds of influences promote health. Introduces the concept that emotional intelligence is as important to psychological health as intellectual ability. Demonstrates the importance of sleep to mental health.
Mental Disorders - Examines depression in depth, the most common of all mental disorders. Explains the difference between "the blues" and true depression, as well as signs and symptoms that indicate depression. Discusses suicide and its prevention from both personal and professional viewpoints.
Fitness for Every Lifestyle - Relates the importance of fitness to one's quality of life and ability to cope with the demands of everyday living. Demonstrates new techniques for encouraging the development of physical fitness early in life and explores the components of fitness and a fitness program.
Nutrition: Eating for Your Health - Interprets the meaning of sound nutrition, the importance of the Food Pyramid, ethnic interpretations of the Food Pyramid and healthy eating patterns in the various cultures. Examines the influence of "fast food" on Americans' eating patterns and health.
Weight Management: Finding a Healthy Middle - Explores the extremes of weight management problems. Experts recognize obesity as a crisis in the health of our citizens, particularly in children — while at the other end of the spectrum, the media represents the "waif," rail thin woman as being the most desirable. Highlights the impact of eating disorders on health.
Building Relationships - Introduces some of the relationships important in people's lives. Explains what makes relationships work, what interferes with relationships, the importance of relationships to individuals' health and the dynamics of Internet relationships.
Sexual Health - Discusses various forms of sexual expression, recognizing that one's sexuality is an integral part of sexual health. Clarifies the physiology of the human sexual response. Addresses problems, consequences, and prevention of sexual violence.
Reproduction and Contraception - Follows a pregnancy from the first trimester through birth, interpreting the changes that take place in the woman and in the fetus. Discusses contraception, as well as alternatives available when an unplanned pregnancy occurs.
A Family Affair - Introduces the new baby and discusses the responsibilities of parenting. Addresses the issues of family health, including single parenting, and the growth, development and needs of the child at different ages.
Managing Your Health- Examines the complexities of the modern health care delivery system in the United States. Interprets the physician/patient relationship and explains dental health and issues of dental care.
Other Paths: Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Explores the increasing use of complementary/alternative therapies and their relationship to allopathic medicine. Describes integrative medicine and offers glimpses of complementary practice.
Infectious Diseases - Traces the transmission and impact of infectious disease, both today and throughout the history of the world. Focuses on prevention of the spread of infectious disease through simple techniques as well as vaccines.
Fighting a Global Epidemic - Examines HIV/AIDS, the spread of the disease, its human cost and potentials for vaccines. HIV/AIDS, one of many sexually transmitted diseases epidemic in the population, demonstrates issues of transmission and prevention of diseases spread primarily by sexual contact (STDs).
A Healthy Heart - Explains the function of the heart and risk factors for heart disease. Identifies major cardiovascular diseases, their causes, symptoms and treatment. Discusses lifestyle changes that promote cardio- vascular health.
Coping with Cancer - Describes cancer, the importance of early diagnosis, various treatment modalities, research and the role of support groups and other complementary therapies as part of cancer treatment. Shares insights into the personal and emotional aspect of living with cancer.
Living with a Chronic Disease - Highlights health issues and lifestyle decisions faced by people living with chronic disease through the examples of asthma and diabetes. Looks at the importance of voluntary health organizations in the research, education, and treatment of disease.
Drugs - Investigates the use, misuse and abuse of drugs in society as well as the impact of drug abuse on the family. Emphasizes the misuse problems of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including a factual understanding about the risks of drugs that are abused.
Alcohol - Examines the problems of alcohol use and efforts of prevention among various groups, including college students. The story of the progression to addiction, the problems of addiction and the search for sobriety as told by individuals addresses the many faces of the problem.
Tobacco - Illustrates the effects of tobacco on the body's systems, explains the incredible addictive properties of nicotine and the difficulties encountered when quitting. Demonstrates examples of smoking cessation programs and aids.
Staying Safe - Examines various aspects of safety and functioning in emergency situations, and measures to prevent injuries. Demonstrates alternative behaviors that are designed to lower the incidence of violence.
Aging: Health Across the Lifespan - Follows the process of healthy aging and brings concepts to life through visits with the researcher and participants in the longest-term study of adult development ever undertaken. Discusses new developments in Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis, treatment and management.
When Life Ends - Shares insight into the end of life as a natural part of living. Discusses hospice care, preparing for death, grief and the importance of organ transplantation as part the process surrounding the end of life.
Our Planet, Our Health - Explores the interrelationship between the health of the individual and the health of the environment. Gives examples of huge environmental threats such as the global climate change, along with examples of both large and small projects that address environmental health problems.
World Health: The Journey Continues - Expands the vision of health beyond the familiar borders of the United States, and compares the health issues of the world with the issues experienced in the U.S. Offers students a broader definition of health and wellness and encourages them to continue their own "Journey to Health."

Design and Production Team

Veteran media professionals developed Journey to Health in concert with a content specialist and members of professional and faculty advisory committees. Educators, producers, videographers, video and print editors, a musicologist, production coordinators, scriptwriters, multimedia specialists and an instructional designer comprised the production team for the series.

Content Specialist - Donna Beck Richards has a long career as a registered nurse, educator and college administrator. She was Content Specialist for the award-winning telecourse "Living With Health." With BS and MS degrees from Texas Women's University and long time service with various health agencies, she brings a broad knowledge of the health status and concerns of the population.

Project Director - Craig Mayes, an award-winning producer-director, brings more than 30 years of production experience to this series. Recent projects have received the George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting and the Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence in Publishing. He directed the development of Dallas TeleLearning telecourses “Exploring Society," "Shaping America," and "Choices and Change."

Producer/Director - Julia Dyer has worked in film and television for fifteen years, producing and directing in the entertainment and educational sectors. Her feature film, "Late Bloomers," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. "Voices In Democracy" and "Shaping America," documentary telecourses produced by Dyer, were both honored with Platinum Best of Show Awards from the Aurora Competition.

Instructional Designer - Martie Mooney has 17 years of experience in teaching, training and educational design. She currently works with Dallas TeleLearning on the instructional design of telecourses and online multimedia courses. Martie has a BA in Education from University of Arizona and a MEd from the University of North Texas.

Associate Producer - Angie Meyer’s background in film and television includes production work for Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films and various commercial projects. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she has coordinated production of the "Shaping America" telecourse for Dallas TeleLearning and produced a program for the "America In Perspective" telecourse series.

Researcher - Karen Austen, PhD, an Associate Professor of Health and Kinesiology at Tarrant County College (Texas), brings her extensive background as researcher, faculty member, College Assistant Dean, and intercollegiate Head Coach to this series. She also provided the research for the award-winning telecourse "Living With Health."

Executive-in-charge - Pamela Quinn, President of DCCCD’s LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications, has more than 25 years of experience in distance learning, teaching, broadcasting and administration. With a BS from the University of Kansas and a MS from Texas A&M University-Commerce, she has served on and consulted with numerous national organizations promoting distance learning.

Advisory Committees

Journey to Health was developed through the efforts of a number of outstanding individuals. Among those who made a significant contribution to the project are the members of the national, professional and local advisory committees.

National Advisors

Tina DeLapp, University of Alaska at Anchorage
Ed Hoffman, Anne Arundel Community College
Tim Johnson, Tarrant County College
Tara Miller, Middle Tennessee State University
Scott Wolf, Southwestern Illinois College
Kathleen Wolf, Colorado Mountain College
Lillian Yamaoka, Los Angeles City College

Professional

Mary Ellen Bluntzer, MD, Dallas, TX
Anne Coleman, MD, Richardson, TX
Robert Hales, MD, MBA, University of California at Davis
Peter G. Snell, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
Clyde W. Yancy, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Local Adviors

Avis Jamieson, Brookhaven College
Don Mathus, Eastfield College
Lona Parr, North Lake College
Rosemary Smith, Cedar Valley College
Bill White, Richland College